


The Woods

by Legna



Series: 1D Horror [5]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: 1970s, Alternate Universe - 1970s, Alternate Universe - 1980s, Bullying, Creepy, Creepy!Niall, F/M, Friendship, Homophobic Language, Horror, M/M, Mystery, Suspense, Terror
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-06
Updated: 2014-07-25
Packaged: 2018-02-07 18:27:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1909230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Legna/pseuds/Legna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zayn and his family moves to a new state in the winter. Zayn meets a boy who is strange and goes through a horrific moment that he has never experienced before.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

_Early January 1974._

Zayn absolutely dreaded the ride to his new home because he misses the winter warmth of the south. After a few hours in, snow was falling and it was falling heavier and heavier as his family drove past each state. The snow is definitely heavier as they had entered the Michigan state and there are inches of snow covering every ground, pavement and even the bushes and trees. The sky copies pure white and there is no vision of the largest star to shine through the thick clouds and to warm the area. Zayn doesn’t like this at all.

The person that he is, he’s used to warmth and heat. He doesn’t mind sweating and he would get to enjoy an occasional, refreshing iced tea with a touch of lemon and oranges or cherry popsicles and the best of all…..ice cold, bright pink watermelon.

Instead, he has to transitions to drinking _hot_ beverages and blankets to keep himself warm.

“Are we there yet?” The ten years-old asks his father, who is driving the route to their new home. His mother answers to Zayn, giving a fond smile to her son.

“Just a few minutes, honey. We’ll be there.”

Zayn asked that same question over and over for the past eleven hours. He’s sure that his father is beyond irritated which is why his mother had responded. Zayn goes back to looking at the sky and view of his new hometown, becoming mesmerized by the slow and float-y drops of white frozen water. Cars are driving among them at a slower speed and the distinct sound of music plays from the speakers of their new Volvo. His parents begin to sing. Zayn sings along as well to the Rolling Stones, despite hating the ride to his new home.

Those ‘few minutes’ went by quickly. In the middle of ‘Satisfaction’, Zayn fell asleep. He then felt the movement of the car turning abruptly into a driveway so he was a bit dazed when seeing the house through the car window. It’s not a bad home…It’s quite lovely and large, painted all white with dark blue trims and is covered with a blue-black roof. A front door occupies in front of the house with a large window on each side and two extra windows on top, which indicates the second floor of the home. There’s no telling what the lawn looks like since it’s utterly covered with heavy snow. The moving truck that had been following the family, parks near the curb in front of the house. An older black man with a thick mustache and weary eyes got out of the driver’s seat and began to yell at Yaser.

“Fuckin’ hell. You did not pay me enough for this shit! I don’t like this fuckin’ snow! This shit is the fuckin’ white devil!”

Zayn giggles, covering his ears from hearing such foul language. His mom frowns while Yaser tries to keep his cool. “Gavin, look, when we’re done. I’ll pay you extra, okay? Like it or not, this move is important for me and my family. And watch your mouth around my kid.”

Gavin made a face, expressing that he’s offended. “I don’t give a _FUCK_!” The ‘fuck’ created an echo throughout the quiet neighborhood and everyone winces from that except Zayn, who found it very hilarious for Gavin to swear.

****

It took an hour to unload everything into the house. The Maliks tried their best to not bring too much stuff. They made a plan to buy the rest of the furniture from a local store. All they really need are couches, extra tables and maybe a new television.

Zayn observes his new room, smelling the fresh paint. It’s not too big and not too small….just perfect for a ten years-old boy who is interested in Art and singing. Zayn requested to his father that his room should be all white so he would have the opportunity to paint and draw whatever he want on his walls.

Speaking of painting, he _knew_ he had forgotten something from the moving truck. He puts his boots and coat back on and ran outside before Gavin could leave. “Wait, wait! I forgot my supplies!” He yelled as soon as Gavin were about to climb in the driver’s seat. Gavin chuckles at the high pitched squeak of Zayn’s voice and he reached over to the passenger seat, grabbing a small sized, black suitcase. “Is this what you’re looking for, pipsqueak?”

Zayn smiles from the nickname. “Yesss, _thank you,_ Mr. Gavin.” Zayn receives his suitcase then drops it on the snowy ground to hug his former neighbor. “I’m going to miss you, Gav.”

“I’ll miss you too, squeak.” Gavin lovingly ruffles Zayn’s hair then lets him go. “I gotta get home to Mrs. Gavin before she beats my ass.” He rolls his eyes and Zayn squeaked in laughter. Hence the nickname, ‘pipsqueak’. “Be good, Zayn. Listen to your parents and don’t do anything silly, ya hear?” All Zayn could do is nod like an idiot. Every advice that Gavin shared to him, Zayn never took it seriously. Gavin had finally got in the truck, slowly taking off and on his way to Zayn’s old home in the warm and toasty south.

Zayn sighs from oncoming homesickness and he shivers from the cold wind blowing in his face. Maybe it’s time to get back in the house. _No need to stay out here and to die from the cold_ , he thought sarcastically. Then he frowns because he wishes he had a friend to be sarcastic with. It’s no fun saying funny comments in your own head and it’s a little sad to laugh at yourself. If only….if only he could gain at least _one_ friend in a short period of time, he would be a bit happier and more accepting of this new change.

He picked up his small suitcase and turns to walk back to the house but had noticed something strange. He stopped moving when glancing and seeing a person looking down at Zayn from the top window of a house next to his house. It look like a kid….shit, it is a kid. Zayn walks closer to get a better look of the kid. He seems to have lighter hair and he has a small frame. The kid from the window continues to stare at Zayn with a frown on his face. Zayn decides to be friendly, smiling and waves at the other boy who stares at him. “Hi?” He doesn’t know if the boy could hear him or read lips; he just hopes that the boy would wave back or…do _something_.

Zayn got distracted by a feminine voice. “Zayn! Come inside and help me unpack this stuff!” He looked at the front door of his home and can see his mother through the door screen.

“Okay, mom!” He shouted back. Before he walked off to do what he needed to do, he looked up at his neighbor’s window again and the boy had disappeared. He could only see red curtains.

Zayn stayed sad for the rest of the night.

****

_Mid January 1974_

That strange kid from the window occasionally pops up in Zayn’s mind from time to time. The last two weeks wasn’t too bad and Zayn’s prediction dissipated quickly. He predicted that living in a new neighborhood with snow and silence, would be the worst time of his life. In reality, he enjoyed sitting by the fireplace and keeping warm, sipping on hot cocoa with whipped cream and a drizzle of chocolate syrup. He enjoyed the board games that he played with his parents and waking up to a peaceful view of snow falling outside every morning. But that kid…there’s something about that kid and Zayn wants to know what it is.

It is early Monday morning and Zayn has to get ready for school. He instantly became worried as soon as he woke up from his slumber, with eyes going wide and his heart beating faster. “Damn.” A new school. Not only he moves to a new place but he transfers to a new school. “Ugh.” He forces his body of his bed, dragging his feet to follow the smell of bacon, grits and eggs. His feet creak on the floor and down the stairs, and he can hear his mother humming from the kitchen.

“Good morning, mom.” Three plates are on the kitchen table. One plate is already filled with food. One is halfway finished and the third one is empty. His father probably already left for work.

“Mornin’, son. Hurry up and eat so you can get dressed and ready to go. The bus will come soon." Zayn followed his mother’s request quickly, munching on the breakfast with fervor (he’s a growing boy with a high metabolism) then he thanked for his mom for the food, planting a messy kiss on her cheek.

“Eww.” She mumbled playfully. “Hurry before you miss the bus!” Zayn runs up the stairs and into his room, not caring what outfit to pick for school. He threw on whatever he found that was clean, then followed his usual morning routine: brushing his teeth, fixing his hair and checking his face for drool stains. He puts on his heaviest coat and his favorite blue boots with silver zippers. It still snows heavy but it varies every day. Some days are light and some days, it seems impossible to go out for a simple drive to a grocery store or a gas station.

“See you later, mom. I’m going outside!” Zayn announced as he walked out the front door, locking it then closing it behind him. It’s so cold that Zayn doesn’t want to wait outside for some stupid bus. He wishes that his mother had her own car so she could have driven him to school. With the move and the new car, it’s a financial struggle to buy a second car, especially at middle class and only one parent working full time. He understands the situation….he just wishes that his family was rich or something.

The bus stop sign is stuck at the end of the block, partially covered with ice and snow, nearly leaning to the left. Zayn waits next to it, ignoring the wind and the snowflakes landing on his face. A few minutes passes and he noticed a small child walking over to the sign. He’s so small and young, he could be in the first grade. It’s weird for Zayn to see the kid wearing no coat or boots…only a blue jean jackets, pants and sneakers.

He ignores that though. “Hi.” Zayn greeted. The young boy, with pale blue eyes and a mop of straight brown hair, looks up at Zayn, smiling.

“Hi.” He responded, giggling. He’s so cute, Zayn blushes.

“I’m Zayn. What’s your name?”

“Louis.”

“Well, Louis…Are you waiting for the bus too?” Zayn asks, thinking that it’s okay to converse with a littler kid. The kid shook his head.

“Nope. I was waiting for _you_.” He giggled some more, placing his small hands on his mouth. Zayn is confused, and his black eyebrows closes in together.

“What do you mean, waiting for me? Do you know me? How do you know me?”

Louis stops smiling, moving closer to Zayn. Zayn steps back from the kid, feeling a little worried. Louis stops too, staring at Zayn with a blank expression. He looks up higher, staring at a certain angle behind Zayn…as if someone was standing behind him. This makes Zayn look back.

He just had to….because…

_What the hell is this kid staring at?_

Zayn turns his head, looking in the direction of where his house is….then he looks at the house next to his house. And he can see from the distance, the kid in the window. The kid stands behind the window, holding the curtains to the side with his right hand and stares back. Zayn jumped a bit when the little kid suddenly walked up and stood next to Zayn.

“Stay away from him.” Louis says quietly as he kept his eyes on the kid at the window. “Stay away.”

Zayn broke eye contact and looked down at Louis. “Why? What’s wrong with him?” Louis looks at Zayn again, pursing his lips. It’s obvious that he has more to share but it’s a feeling that Louis isn’t _supposed_ to share more. Instead of saying anything else that could have answered Zayn’s question, he skipped off.

“Bye, Zayn!”

The kid ran off so fast, he was already around the corner of the block, running to the next street. Zayn wouldn’t have caught up to Louis. He couldn’t anyway…because of the stupid bus that he has to wait for.

The school bus finally arrives, parking near the sign. The door automatically opens and reveals a young man who may be in his mid twenties, sitting down and smokes a cigarette in his mouth. “You getting on for school or not?!” Zayn nodded, immediately climbing up the steps and onto the bus. There aren’t too many children on the bus…they’re only scattered throughout the bus. Some are sitting in pairs and some are sitting alone. No one greeted Zayn or even looked at him. The reason why is because most of them had left their seat, gathering together to view a certain house through the windows.

One kid mentions and points at the house next to Zayn’s, “Look! There it is! That’s the house! That’s the house of the crazy kid!” Everyone else exclaims while the bus driver tries to shut them up. “Alright! Everybody, sit back in your seats! We don’t have enough time!” He rose his voice, using his belt as a threat and every student went from wild animals to well behaved.

Zayn chooses a seat, sitting by himself. He doesn’t mind really. Being alone is something that he is used to. Even at his old home, he didn’t have many friends. He only had two friends but they weren’t all so close.

On the bus ride to school, Zayn couldn’t shake off what just happened. Everything happened so fast….Louis showing up. The blond haired kid showing up at the window again, doing nothing but staring. Then…other students gawking at the house and called it, “the house of the crazy kid”.

Why is he crazy? What did he do….that gave him the reputation of being called crazy? Zayn’s curiosity is stronger now. He truly wants to know who he is. He also wants to solve the mystery of Louis...where did he come from and why did he say what he said…

_Nope. I was waiting for you._

****

 

****

It’s no surprise to Zayn that on his first day of school, he gets bullied. Buzz Arlington…Big time, long haired, deep voiced and overweight asshole. Zayn wonders on why he is named ‘Buzz’. He made a mistake by making fun of his name then Buzz pushed him, knocking Zayn to the ground.

“It’s not of your damn business about my name! Little bitch. If you wan’ be a bitch about my name, then give me your fuckin’ lunch money.” Buzz bends down, chuckling for no reason because he’s a jerk. “From now on, you’re my bitch so give your money….or I’ll make you.” Buzz grabs Zayn’s collar, pulling hard as a threat.

Zayn had to give up his lunch money.

****

Some tears may or may not have came out of Zayn’s eyes as he walked to his house after being dropped off by the school bus. His shoulders slumped as he carried his book bag and his eyes follow the trail in front of him.

Damn Buzz…. Buzz bothered Zayn for the entire day, calling him names, making fun of how small Zayn is for his age, his southern accent and his flamboyant blue boots….Buzz picked at everything he could think of.

And Zayn is hurt. “I hate this place. I friggin’ hate it.” He mumbles to himself, walking onto the porch of his house.

“Why do you hate it?” An unfamiliar voice has asked, making Zayn turn his head in the direction of where the voice came from.

The kid from the window. The “crazy” kid, is standing in Zayn’s driveway, wearing a coat, a hat and mittens. His face is flushed with red and his eyes are clear to see now…so blue like the sea that is tranquil. Zayn could become lost in them. Now, he has always been curious and confused when it comes to liking girls and boys but seeing the kid up close….confusion isn’t an option anymore.

“Uh…um, uh..I, uh..I meant..” Zayn wants to die because he stuttered. He just met the kid so the kid probably thinks that Zayn is retarded by now. “I mean, I don’t hate it. I just…I actually hate this kid at my school. He’s kind of a jerk…he stole my lunch money and made fun of me all day.”

The kid nods, rolling his eyes as if he knew. “Buzz?”

Zayn smiles from that. “Yeah, how’ya know?”

“I know him. Everyone knows that asshole.” The kid’s eyes wanders up and down on Zayn’s overall appearance then he made eye contact. Zayn shivers, not from the cold of the winter but from the intensity of this…mysterious boy. “I’m Niall, by the way. Welcome to the neighborhood.” He smiles for the first time for Zayn to see. His teeth are slightly crooked and Zayn is sure that a dimple is hidden somewhere on side of Niall’s smile. Besides….he’s adorable. He’s already so comfortable with the kid, he forgets about stepping inside of his house, walking closer to the edge of the pouch to introduce himself to Niall. “I’m Zayn.”

“Wanna hang out? I found a cool, dead snake in the back. I have a stick so we can poke at it….if you want to..” Niall’s voice changed from confident to shy and Zayn noticed. Of course, he wouldn’t reject that invitation.

“Sure! I have to put my bag in the house and let my mom know…then we can go. Just hold on!” Zayn runs quickly inside of the house, throwing his book bag in the middle of the hallway. “MOM?! MOMMM!”

His mother’s head popped out of the living room and she looked at Zayn as if he’s crazy. “Why are you yelling? What is it?”

Zayn’s voice squeaks as he begs with his dark eyes. “I’m going to hang out with Niall. Is it okay for me to go?”

She placed her hands on his face, smiling with delight. She does this thing that every mother do…feeling proud that the only and always alone child, has made a friend. “Aw, you made a friend on your first day of school? Is he nice?”

“Moomm…come on. He’s cool and we’re just going to hang out for a while. Pleaasee, can I go?” Zayn whines because his mother can be overbearing with questions. The quick interrogation was done and she has given a small set of rules. Of course, Zayn will follow them but the main important thing is to get back home on time and to not cause trouble.

“Have fun, okay? Tell Niall that I said hello.”

Zayn rushed out of the house, excited and floored. He ended up slamming the front door too hard and it’s obvious that he will get an earful about that when he returns home. Niall is still there, standing on the snowy driveway with a closed smile and glistening eyes. “My mom says that I have to get home at a certain time but anyway…where’s the snake?” Zayn grins, feeling giddy because he has never seen a dead snake before. He would rather see it as alive but dead is just as fine.

Niall simply said, “Follow me.” then proceeded to walk off, going behind the house then straight towards the woods that covers every neighbor’s backyard. Zayn stopped in his tracks when seeing this. There are trees with leaves still on them, for some strange reason. Snow is everywhere and it seems to be really dark within it.

‘Um’ comes out of Zayn’s mouth and Niall stopped walking before he fully entered the woods.

“What? I thought you want to see the snake.” He looks hurt, tilting his head at Zayn.

Zayn kicks the snows with his boots, looking down and stutters. “M-my mom told me th..that I’m not allowed to go out there. She said it’s dangerous and I can get lost or someone can kidnap me.”

The woods honestly look scary. How do Niall have the courage to want to go in _there_?

Niall walks towards Zayn, stopping in front of him, gazing with those icy blue eyes that send chills up Zayn’s spine. “Nothing will happen. I’ll be with you. We’ll be together. Nothing bad will happen if we’re together. Okay?” He smiles after that, as if that’s supposed to encourage Zayn to go against his mother’s rules. Zayn considers it, though he knows he will regret _not_ listening to someone who is more than a great influence in his life…but Niall, in mere seconds, became so convincing and Zayn has shocked himself by his final answer.

“Okay…yeah, sure. We can go in there. Together.”

Niall held out his left hand and Zayn looked down. “Would this make you feel better?” Zayn understood, nodding his head and took Niall’s hand. They walk slowly together, with hands embedded in each other’s.

The first ten steps towards the woods were anticipating. The steps after that, entering the woods, transitioned into nerve racking. Pretty soon, Zayn is getting his first anxiety attack and holding Niall’s hand is not helping enough.

“You’ll be fine. I’m here with you and it’s just a snake.” Niall stated, still smiling. Zayn thinks, _this kid is way too comfortable with doing this and we are not supposed to be doing this._ Yet, they’re doing it and they are walking further and further, going straight. Niall starts leading after three minutes and turns slightly to the left.

Zayn can see ahead of them that there’s a small pond. The water is dark and frozen and is surrounded by giant rocks and smooth, gray stones. Niall picks up a long stick that he found and continues walking into the area of the pond.

“C’mere. Help me out.” Niall begins pushing one of the rocks and Zayn goes over to help him. Both boys pushes the rock with all of their strength, despite being small boys and the rock scratches the ground, defying inertia as it moves over. Niall digs in the dirt that was once covered with the giant rock, pulling out a small dead snake.

“Whoa…that is…awesome. Gross but awesome.” Zayn giggles, looking back and forth at the snake and Niall, who stares at it like it is the holy grail. Zayn is all smiles and joy, excited over seeing a decaying creature. Niall on the other hand, frowns and serious thoughts.

Niall looked up at Zayn. “At least, you’re not scared anymore. Minutes ago, you was about to pass out. You wanna hold it?” Niall held up the snake, handling it to Zayn, who hadn’t gave an answer yet but he accepts it anyway. Zayn took off his gloves, stuffing them in his coat’s pockets then grabbed the snake gently. It feels disgusting and dirty but it’s so cool to look at. He wonders on what kind of snake it is, trying to make out the pattern on the snake’s skin. He’s so distracted, he didn’t listen to Niall’s weird mumbling as he held the snake, bringing his eyes closely to scan the scales.

“How did you find this? Like…how did you find this place?”  Zayn asked out of curiosity.

Niall shrugged. “It’s my hiding place.”

That didn’t exactly answer Zayn’s question but Zayn shrugged it off too, thinking that it was good enough. He’s not the type to pry into people’s business. Yeah, he gets curious and would love to know things but his intention is to never be rude.

“Do you mind if I ask, what are you hiding from?”

And Niall smiles again, standing up and begin to run past Zayn and yelled out, “Last one out of the woods is a rotten egg!”  

Zayn is alone in Niall’s hiding place and anxiety took over again.

****

Everything felt like a nightmare merging into reality. Zayn didn’t bother to run. He just walks, too slowly, looking all around him, trying to find his way out. The woods seem darker and hallucinations occurs.

“NIALL?! NIALL, PLEASE! COME BACK!” Zayn yelled out, on the verge of crying. “THIS ISN’T FUNNY!”

_I don’t even know you that much and you’re playing a cruel trick on me like I’m your little brother or somethin’._

“NIALL, PLEASE! GET ME OUT!!!” Zayn yelled, over and over. Stopping then walking. Turning around then stops, turns his head and continues walking straight. He’s so confused and scared. If Niall doesn’t find him, he might have a mental breakdown and die right then and there, in the middle of the dark woods.

He couldn’t breathe when seeing a dark figure in the corner of his eye and he begins running. “NIALL! NIALL! WHERE ARE YOU?! OH, MY GOD!” The figure follows Zayn, creeping among the trees and bushes with galloping footsteps and eyes as white as the snow. Zayn keeps looking back to see if it still follows.

It follows, and it’s not stopping.

“HELP! HELPPP NI-!” Zayn runs into something that felt like a human being and it caused him to fall back on the ground. Niall stands there in front of the trembling boy, laughing like there’s no tomorrow.

“What are you on about, Zayn? I was right there with you.”

Zayn’s eyes widen then he looked back again, seeing nothing. No dark figure, no sounds of heavy footsteps. Absolutely nothing. “I…” He starts to say, still observing his surroundings for proof of the figure.

“There was something! There was something following me! Niall, you have to believe me! It was tall and black and it didn’t have arms or a face. Just white eyes and…it kept following me! Why did you leave me, Niall?! I could have gotten hurt! The thing could have hurt me!”

Zayn cries, pushing himself to stand then he pushes Niall. He just met the kid and already, he hates his guts.

Niall grabs Zayn’s arms to prevent being hit and attacked by Zayn. “Hey, hey, Zayn! Chill out! Okay? It’s okay!” He shushed the crying boy, holding onto him. “It’s okay, really. I was _there_ with you. You’re going crazy over nothing.”

Zayn looked at Niall like he’s an idiot. “You _weren’t_ there! Something else was! Stop saying that! You’re trying to make me look crazy! I’m going home!” Zayn storms off, walking towards the open entrance of the woods. He can see his house but his anxiety still remains. He just wants to go home and drink hot cocoa to calm his nerves and maybe take a nap. Niall doesn’t follow Zayn. Instead, he stood there inside of the woods, watching the dark haired boy walk home and he mumbles to himself.

“I was there.”


	2. Chapter 2

Zayn couldn’t believe the day he had, reminiscing the moments repeatedly in his head after he has awoke from a long nap. He recalls the weird moment with the Louis kid, dealing with Buzz, meeting Niall for the first time then….that figure; the dark figure that followed him in the woods. He was deeply upset when Niall didn’t believe a word he said and kept saying “I was there with you”.

Bullshit.

Niall wasn’t there at all. He ran off like an asshole and left Zayn alone….then Zayn had to encounter that horrible thing.

The nap he had was too long indeed. After dinner, he fell asleep around six p.m. and now it’s almost ten at night. He feels dazed and fatigued as a dull pain throbs on the left side of his head. Zayn thinks he’s also going crazy because there is a voice distinctly calling his name. He gasps, and his body fidgets and his mind becomes alert.

He’s not one to believe in ghosts or the boogeyman or any type of mythical, evil creatures just yet but due to the dark figure experience earlier, he is beyond skeptical and wouldn’t mind resorting to communication with inhuman entities….if there’s any. Zayn prays in the back of his mind that someone…or _something_ will not respond because for goodness’ sake, he’s just a kid trying to have a happy childhood with minimal traumatic experiences.

“Hello? Is anybody there?” He asks. The fright leaks out of his voice and he waits. Nothing said anything and nothing comes in view. Thank god. But just as soon as Zayn were going to ignore it, the voice spoke again.

“Zayn!”

This time, the voice is clearer and Zayn immediately recognized it. “Niall?” He looked around his bedroom, a room of shadows and dim light but nothing too eerie, and there’s no sight of Niall. It all clicked to him when he views his window. He got out of bed, walking over to the window and looked down. Niall is standing outside in the cold but he doesn’t seem to be bothered by it.

_What in the…_

Zayn can’t help to think that Niall is a seriously brave kid. There is enough proof to showcase Niall’s strange courage. The courage to go into the freaking woods, the courage to handle a dead snake in his ‘hiding place’ and the courage to stand outside in the blistering cold…at night…by himself.

It is unusual…and Zayn envies the courage that Niall has, especially for a kid his age. Zayn is ten and he got scared by his own toe a couple times before.

He opens his window, wincing at the loud creaking noise that it makes. The wind suddenly howls, forcing a burst of cold air inside of his room and he shivers because he isn’t wearing a shirt. “Niall, what are you doing out there? Are you crazy? Do your parents know that you’re out here?”

Niall ignores the second and third question. His answer is clearly for the first one. “I want to talk. Can we talk? You know…about earlier. I want to apologize too.” Zayn can’t see Niall’s face but he can tell there’s sincerity. It mostly shows in Niall’s voice and this has got his attention.

“Talk now? Here? You’ll freeze to death if you stay out there.” Zayn stated, even though he can see that Niall has on a coat, hat and mittens as well as boots that goes up to his calves. Niall giggles, shaking his head.

“No, silly. Come outside then we’ll go to the woods and talk.”

_No…_

_“_ I’m not going back out there! Not at night! I-i…I can’t even sneak out!” Zayn squeaks then he pops his hand on his mouth, hoping that his parents don’t hear him. Zayn looked back, staring at the closed bedroom door, just to see if his mom or dad would suddenly check up on him. Nothing happens then he tries to keep his voice low. “I can’t do it. I’m sorry. We can talk but…not in the woods. We can talk anywhere but the woods. But right now, I just can’t..”

Niall seems hurt but his voice says otherwise. “Can’t what? You seem afraid, Zayn. What are you so afraid of?”

Zayn thinks about it for a few seconds then answered the best way he could. “I’m not like you, Niall. I don’t just go out into the woods by myself so I can make a freakin’ hiding place. I don’t sneak out and wander around in the dark. You’re not scared of anything. But…I am. I’m scared. I get scared. I’m scared to get caught by my parents. I’m scared to catch a cold from standing outside for too long. I’m scared…” Zayn wanted to finish but he don’t desire to sound more of a wimp than he already do now.

“Scared _offff_ …?” Niall trails out the second word.

“I’m scared of what’s in the woods.” He admits, avoiding eye contact with Niall. Niall nods as if he understands but in honesty, he wants to laugh because he thinks Zayn sounds ridiculous but chose not to.

“I still want to talk. Please?”

For the second time, being the persuasive bastard that Niall is, Zayn is influenced and he automatically formed an idea in his mind; then he thinks about the advantages and consequences of the idea. It’s a good idea because finally, Zayn and Niall would be able to talk like Niall wishes to do so. It’s also a bad idea because if he get caught, inviting a strange boy into his house and up in his bedroom, his parents won’t be too happy about it.

“If you can be very, _very_ quiet, I’ll bring you up here then we can talk, okay?” Zayn informs. Niall shook his head instantly and a satisfied smile spreads on his puffy face. “I’ll meet you at the front door in a few minutes.”

Niall walks away as Zayn closes his window. He puts on his favourite pajama shirt with an image of Ironman then proceeds to get Niall. He tried his best to be quiet, slowly creeping his feet through the hallway to the stairs. This is where it becomes a challenge because the stairs are quite noisy if one is to walk on them. Zayn took his time, placing each foot down on each step. He turned his head repeatedly to check for his parents.

“Okay…I can do this.” The last two steps, for some reason, are the creakiest steps. He made a rash decision to skip those steps and jump. His body made a small thud sound on the floor but regardless…he made it. He quickly runs to the front door, opening it only slightly to check if Niall is truly there.

And he is, smiling widely enough to hurt his cheeks. Zayn opens the door a little bit more, still shaking from the cold.

“Aren’t you going to invite me in?” Niall asked as one of his eyebrows rose. Zayn felt like a retard when Niall asked that question.

“Yeah, yeah, sure. Come in.” Zayn giggled after that, in hopes to lighten up the moment. “Like I said, you have to be quiet. My parents are in their room but I don’t think they’re asleep. Usually, my dad goes to sleep after midnight.”

“Okay.” Niall whispers, taking off his boots in order to be polite. He placed his boots on a mat near the front door. “Where is your room?”

Zayn does a waving gesture so that Niall would follow him. “This way.” He paces slowly then stopped at the end of the staircase. He turned back, facing Niall. “Skip the first two. They are very _loud_.” Niall nods at that and Zayn maneuvers his right leg on the third step, then continues up the stairs, nimble as a mouse. Niall repeats Zayn’s actions and eventually, both of them has made it upstairs without disturbing Zayn’s parents.

Niall entered Zayn’s bedroom first, taking off his coat, mittens and hat and threw them on the floor. “Nice room.” His eyes scans the walls, which are nearly covered with posters, drawing and records. He gets a chance to see a touch of Zayn’s personality and obviously, Zayn is an artistic person.

“Thanks…it took me a few days to get everything the way I wanted. I just have to finish this wall right here.” Zayn points at a half blank wall. During the second week, he got started on painting a superhero mural. It consists of few heroes from DC and more heroes from Marvel. “I hope I can finish it. It gets hard sometimes.” Zayn was so focused on his artwork, he didn’t notice Niall getting comfortable enough to lie down on Zayn’s bed. “Oh…are you tired?” He asks, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

Niall shook his head but he didn’t say anything. It’s awkward and silent now…it’s creepy too because Niall is just _lying_ there, staring at Zayn with a look that is not easy to confab. It almost feels like that Niall have a plan.

“It may be hard but you can do it, Zayn. You can do anything. Put your mind to it and you can do anything.”

Zayn scoffed. “Why do you sound like my dad? I _know_ that I can do it but sometimes…sometimes, I’m not in the mood to do it, you know?” He inadvertently moves from the edge of the bed and crawls his way next to Niall, lying on his back as well. He notices how cold Niall is. There’s an absence of body heat, probably due to standing outside but it’s weird, really weird on how cold is Niall is. He literally feels like ice.

“Are you cold?” It comes out as a whisper but Niall heard it and he nodded as yes. Zayn makes a suggestion that could help that dilemma. It could help or it could freak the other boy out. Either way, in Zayn’s mind, it’s innocent and he only want Niall to be comfortable as possible. “Do you want to get under the covers?”

Niall smiles and he made sure that Zayn could see it. “Okay.” Zayn sits up, reaching over to pull the comforter over them. He laid back down when both of them are fully covered, wiggling his body closer to Niall so he can share body heat.

For two boys to lie next to each other, close as two peas in a pod, in a warm silence….might come off as weird, especially if they _just_ met in that same day. Who would have thought that Niall would be in Zayn’s bed by now?

A few weeks ago, Niall was just a boy in the window..

 

Now, he might be a friend.

 

 

“Zayn?”

“Yeah?”

Niall pauses for a few seconds then spoke again. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have run off and scared you like that in the woods. That was….that made me look like a butthole, I guess. Do you forgive me?”

“Yeah, I forgive you. It’s alright. But..” Zayn shudders from his thoughts. He still can’t get that dark figure out of his head. “I wish you could have believed me when I said I had seen something. You should have believed me…”

“I do believe you. I’m sorry.”

“You do?”

“Yeah.”

Zayn feels better and Niall feels less guilty. They finally looked at each other, turning their heads and gives chances to observe one another’s faces. Both of them did not realize how close they were next to each other. Niall doesn’t seem to be bothered by it; he only looks down at Zayn’s lips then back in Zayn’s eyes. Zayn felt tingles and he’s not sure of where this is going. He does have an idea of where it could go but he’s mostly unsure of Niall consenting to it.

“Niall?” He mouthed but didn’t say it out loud. Niall didn’t need to hear it. He was very close enough to read the lips.

“Yeah, Zayn?”

“I..”

He couldn’t request it. It’s embarrassing and _ugh_ , what if Niall likes girls? Then it would be super embarrassing and weird. There goes the friendship too.

But Niall got to it first. “Zayn, have you ever kissed a boy?”

_Now, he just made it worse…_

“What!?” It’s one of those definite moments that make Zayn’s voice squeaks and for the first time, he doesn’t like it because it made him sound as if he’s a total dork. He kept stuttering, unable to answer Niall’s question. Then he mildly freaked out, being on the verge of getting out of bed and kicking Niall out due to petty reasons. He can’t help it. He just can’t and he feels stupid, stupid, stupid until….

Until Niall made him stopped feeling any sort of way except _wow_ because he kissed him…finally. No stutter. No frantic body movements and no more embarrassment. Zayn lets himself go, kissing a boy for the first time. His eyes are slightly open, only to look at Niall’s reaction. He seems to be enjoying it and he’s quite…experienced. Niall slightly sucks at Zayn’s bottom lip, placing a hand on Zayn’s neck. Zayn doesn’t know what to do so he just lies back then closes his eyes. Niall tastes like candy so Zayn suspected that he probably ate licorice recently.

The longer this went on, the feeling of _holy shit_ gets deeper and Zayn honestly think that his brain is drugged. They stopped kissing and they looked into each other’s eyes again. Zayn can’t keep his eyes open since the sudden hit of sleepiness had taken over. He tries to understand what Niall is saying to him. It sounds something like chanting and mumbles.

Right before he fell asleep, he heard another voice. It’s deeper, rumbling to his ears. The same second his eyes had glued shut, the dark figure shows up in front of him, glaring at him with those unforgettable white eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

“Zayn, it’s time for school!!” Zayn’s mom shouted outside of his bedroom door. The volume of her voice causes Zayn to suddenly jolt awake from heavy sleep and to slightly panic because he remembered that he invited Niall in his house. He observes his room and he find that he is alone. No Niall…no dark figure. Just him sitting up in bed, with small beads of sweat dripping from his forehead and his neck and his heart rate has accelerated.

_I guess…Niall left after I fell asleep._

He then thinks about the dark figure showing up right before he fell asleep. The little one second before he closed his eyes….just that one second, it showed up right in front of him. Somehow, Niall disappeared then….it was right there, lying aside Zayn and staring at him. Usually, when Zayn see something unusual in a drowsy state, he would have the ability to keep himself awake so he would confront it. But last night, after kissing Niall, he felt like he couldn’t do anything. He lost all control of his body and his mind then fell into deep slumber.

It’s almost as if…Niall had drugged him or something.

“ZAYN! Are you up? The bus will come soon!”

“I’m up, Mom!” Zayn shouted back, rolling his eyes. He forced his body out of bed and out of his room, going to the bathroom. As he spent his time getting ready for school, the night before didn’t leave his mind. The scene of the kiss played over and over. It was soft and gentle, Zayn thought.

“I kissed him. I kissed a boy.” Zayn mumbles to himself. He finds himself smiling while he looks at the mirror, scrubbing his face with a wet washcloth and soap. The kiss wasn’t so bad honestly. He expected it to be a lot of spit and teeth, just like the other kids had said that it would be like but kissing Niall was an awesome experience.

Until the dark figure showed up.

 

 

Within five minutes, Zayn rushed to put on clothes and outerwear. He missed breakfast so he had to grab an apple from the kitchen. “Love you, mom. See you later.” He plants a kiss on his mom’s cheek then leaves to go outside. It is absolutely blistering cold today; putting on a giant coat isn’t enough to help stay warm. Zayn hopes that the bus will come as quickly as possible. His feet struggles to walk on the frozen and sticky snow to the end of block, where the bus stop sign is. Zayn regrets wearing only one pair of socks.

He hides his face in his scarf and waits, cursing at the harsh winter. The street is filled with nothing but white on two rows of houses and the pavement is gray with a silver tint instead of usually black. He still waits, glancing left and right then at Niall’s house. It’s a surprise to Zayn when Niall suddenly comes out of the front door, wearing the same coat, mittens and boots. He walks toward Zayn with an odd smirk on his face.

“Niall!” Zayn drops his book bag and runs to Niall with his arms open. They close around Niall when Zayn shoves his body against the other boy. Niall nearly fell back but he recuperated, and hugged Zayn back.

“Are you okay? It’s nice to see you too.” Niall spoke in a baby voice as a joke but Zayn didn’t laugh.

“No, I’m not okay! Last night….about last night, please, please, _please_ tell me that you saw _it_ last night. After we, you know, kissed. It showed up! I don’t know how it did but it showed up then I fell asleep and just please tell me that you saw it. It was _right there_ with us, in my room!”

Niall formed a look on his face that says… _what the hell._ Zayn doesn’t like it.

“Don’t look at me like that. Tell me that you saw it too.” Zayn whines and he’s close to crying. Niall had to see it, right? He was there with Zayn and he has a witness to seeing that horrible thing that follows Zayn.

To make everything worse and to cause Zayn to be at his most frustrated point, Niall asked something that was so unexpected.

“Saw what?”

Zayn doesn’t know whether to be angry or hurt. He’s both and he knows that he is _not_ crazy. “Seriously, Niall? You were there with me! You must have seen it! It was there! It was right there in my bedroom, in front of me! IT WAS IN THE WOODS THEN IT SHOWED UP IN MY ROOM!” Zayn screams in Niall’s face, shaking his hands up to face level. Niall reacted because he thought that Zayn was planning to hit him. He grabbed Zayn’s shoulders, shaking him then holds onto him.

“Zayn, I was THERE with you! I didn’t see anybody and I don’t know what you’re talking about. NOBODY else was there. It was just me.” Niall calms his voice down, hugging Zayn closer to his body. “As long as I am with you, nobody else will hurt you. I told you that yesterday.”

The tears came out anyway despite Zayn’s effort to stop them. He submits to Niall’s embrace, trying to believe that there isn’t a dark figure. Maybe it was only the two of them together in his bed.

Maybe…

Maybe, he is crazy.

“I don’t understand. What’s happening to me?” Zayn sniffs, ignoring the snot leaking out of his red tinted nose. “I just want to know what’s going on. I want to know the truth.” He removes himself from Niall, looking at him through blurry eyes.

“Tell me the truth, Niall. Were we really alone? There’s no black, tall monster haunting me? You didn’t see….a thing?” He wipes the tears off of his face and cleared his throat. “Tell the truth, Niall. I deserve to know.”

The whole time, Niall acted as confused and treated Zayn as if he’s a small animal. Now, his demeanor had changed in a few seconds as he rolled his eyes and tucked his hands in his coat pockets. “You want the truth? Come to my house after school and you’ll get the truth. Deal?”

How could Zayn disagree with that?  Not only that he’ll know what’s going on, he would get to go inside of Niall’s home.

“Deal.”

The school bus shows up, pulling up next to the sign. It’s the worst timing and Zayn curses under his breath. He’s still standing in front of Niall, hoping for some kind of answer. The bus driver was impatient and opened the door to yell at Zayn.

“Come on, kid! I don’t have all day for this shit!”

Zayn sighs, leaving Niall alone then goes to pick up his book bag. He looked back before climbing the stairs on the bus. Niall waves at him; odd smile, flushed face and all silence.

A quick thought entered Zayn’s mind. Why doesn’t Niall go to school? Does he stay at home all day?

Then he assumed that Niall is home schooled.

He waved back then went inside of the bus. The bus driver closes the door, fixing the gears to drive the route to school. Zayn chose a seat in the far back of the bus, and watches Niall the whole time through the frosted window.

****

Buzz didn’t fail to be an asshole again, making fun of Zayn’s stature and his skin color. He moved onto Zayn’s eyebrows. “Hey, faggot. When are you going to fix that unibrow?” Buzz’s friends laugh, pointing at Zayn’s face. Zayn doesn’t say anything because he doesn’t want to risk getting beat up. Buzz is huge and so are his friends.

School has ended and Zayn is walking down the hallway to go outside. He can _feel_ Buzz and Buzz’s friends following behind him so he paces faster to get on the school bus. He clutches his bag closer to him, breathing a little harder because he’s nervous. Buzz goes faster too, catching up to Zayn and pushes Zayn from behind. Zayn trips from the hard force of Buzz’s chubby hands, falling fully on the floor. Every student that is around, laughs or giggles, and points at him. Buzz has this smirk on his face, a smirk that states “I’m proud of embarrassing an innocent kid who is smaller than me” and Zayn sees that smirk. He wants nothing more than to get rid of Buzz forever.

“Aw, are you gonna cry? Look, the little faggot is about to cry.” Buzz kicks Zayn’s book bag, smudging it with his disgusting mud-covered boots. Zayn still lies on the floor as Buzz and his friends walked away and the crowd around him dissipated to outside of school.

So far, everyone had disappeared except for one kid, who stood a few feet away from Zayn, staring down at him. He’s as tall as Buzz but not fat like him. He has a buzz cut and kind, brown eyes. The thing that Zayn noticed mostly was his clothes. They’re slightly different from the way that everyone else is wearing: leather jacket and tight pants. Colorful pants and loads of bracelets happen to be a trend at this time but the kid is nowhere near that.

He stuck a hand out to Zayn. “Let me help you up.” Zayn hesitates then becomes paranoid.

_What if he’s like everyone else? He probably don’t mean it then he’ll leave me hanging._

“Why? So you can push me back on the floor too?” Zayn couldn’t help his hostility. Being bullied has negative effects. The other kid chuckles and he’s still standing there.

“No, man. Just let me help you. I’m not like Buzz.”

Zayn lets his guard down, grasping the kid’s hand and gets pulled up. “Thanks. That is nice of you.” He pats down his pants in case of dirt has got attached to him then he grabbed his bag, inserting his arms through the straps to place the bag on his back. “You didn’t have to but…thanks, again.” Zayn smiles, but deep down, he’s trying not to cry. He begins walking and the kid walks alongside with him.

“I wanted to. I wanted to help you. You didn’t deserve that, you know? Buzz is a bastard for treating you like that.”

“No kidding.” Zayn remarks sarcastically. He realizes how he’s acting then he immediately apologized. “I just can’t wait to get home. So…what’s your name? I’m Zayn and I just started going here y-yesterday.” Zayn stuttered from the sudden cold when he walked outside, following a trail of a line that leads to the buses.

“Liam.” They both shook hands which left both of them smiling awkwardly at each other. “Geez, just yesterday? This is your second day and Buzz is already on you like a mouse on cheese. Must be hungry…as always.”

Yeah, it’s a mean joke but it made Zayn laugh and he’s starting to like Liam. They both climbed on the bus and found an empty seat. Zayn sat down first, insisting that Liam should sit with him, if he wanted to.

“Yeah, it’s fine. You’re cool with me so why not?” Liam sat down and from there; they spent the minutes bantering about Buzz. Buzz’s long, greasy hair, Buzz’s weight, Buzz’s inability to run like a normal person. Zayn is all giggles and smiles to the point where he forgot about being bullied by Buzz and focused more on Liam because he’s damn hilarious.

He noticed some of the students glancing at him and Liam with strange looks; like they couldn’t believe that he and Liam are talking in first place.

“What’s their problem?” Zayn whispers, leaning closer to Liam. But Liam shrugs his shoulders, ignoring what the other kids thought. A girl, probably in the 4th grade, leaves her seat and goes up to Zayn and Liam, positioning herself in the seat in front of their seat. “Hey, you.” She speaks to Zayn, gazing with her big brown eyes. “Are you okay? Are you like, crazy or something? Maybe retarded?”

Zayn’s eyes widen and he’s not sure on how to react. “Why do you think that? I’m not crazy or retarded. I..what…where did you get _those_ ideas?”

_Oh my god, they know about the dark figure…..but…_

_How?_

The girl makes a face, twitching her lips and a dimple appears. She then shrugs, in order to forget the conversation. “ _Never mind_ …just asking.” She leaves and both boys are stunned that a random girl would ask such questions out of the blue. Liam’s mouth is open and he’s speechless while Zayn just becomes embarrassed all over again. Why does she think that Zayn is crazy or retarded? He’s a normal boy talking to another boy on the bus.

The bus ride didn’t last long since the school isn’t so far away from where Zayn lives.

He turns to Liam and he isn’t all giggles and smiles anymore, knowing that he won’t spend any time with Liam until tomorrow. “Well, this is where I get off.” Zayn is prepared to leave, standing up and waits for Liam to move his legs. Instead, Liam stood too, proceeding to exit the bus.

“Me too.” Liam smirks, looking back at Zayn as he walks out of the bus. Zayn followed, being surprised that Liam even lives on the same street.

“Really? You live around here? I’ve never seen you here on this street so far.” Zayn points at his house, informing Liam on where exactly he lives. “Which house is yours?” He asks, looking at Liam for an answer but Liam remains quiet, staring at something that is obviously behind Zayn. “Liam? Uh…are you a’ight?” Zayn waves a hand in front of Liam’s face, trying to catch his attention but Liam stays silent, still staring blankly at…whatever.

After a few seconds, he finally says something.

“That kid…that kid in the window. You should stay away from him.”

 

It’s weird that Liam is the second person to command Zayn to stay away from Niall. First, the Louis kid…now him. Confusion stirs in Zayn yet he defended Niall.

“Who, Niall? Why should I stay away from him? What’s wrong with him? I mean, he isn’t that bad…he just…I don’t know.” Zayn realizes that he sucks at explaining shit. He follows where Liam is staring, turning around completely and there Niall is….standing behind that same window in his house, and stares back at the two boys. Zayn sighs because he’s used already used to Niall’s antics. It doesn’t even creeps him out any more like it used to. If anything, this makes him want to confront Niall. “Don’t worry about Niall. I’m not worried about him. He’s actually nice and cool to hang out with but…I think that maybe, he’s misunderstood and he’s, well, he do act like a dick sometimes but I honestly think that he isn’t so bad…I gave him a chance so you should try too. Right, Liam?”

Liam doesn’t say anything. “Liam?”

Zayn turns around to get any sort of response but…Liam isn’t there anymore. It’s like he disappeared in the thin, cold air.

He was just there a few seconds ago. Where could he have gone to, in just a few seconds? Zayn turned his back for a few seconds…then Liam is gone. Zayn studies the street and it’s empty except for snow and houses…and himself. There are no footprints in the snow except for his footprints because there’s actually a trail that follows him from the point of exiting the bus. But there isn’t another set of footprints.

“LIAM?!” He shouted, just in case if Liam is hiding or playing games but no one answered back.

 

 

This is strange, too strange. Liam was _there._ Zayn saw him well with his own eyes and they touched each other; he grabbed his hand. They met at school, they rode the bus together and they talked. He was real and alive. Very real, breathing and looking normal except for the clothes, which looked like something that came from the sixties….but…

_Liam was real, right?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just one more chapter..
> 
> Does anyone have an idea of what's going on or nah?


	4. Chapter 4

Zayn feel like he’s going mad and he has no solutions or reasons formed for why these particular things are happening to him. He’s frustrated, trying to ignore what just happened and walks over to his house. He’s so annoyed that he ignored his mother’s greeting and the smell of home cooked food. Usually, he would respond and he would get excited about his mother’s home cooked meals. Trisha is hurt, calling after her son but Zayn still doesn’t say anything, continuing up the stairs and into his room.

He angrily threw his book bag on the floor and plops his body on his bed, feeling exhausted and overwhelmed. Zayn doesn’t even want to think about Liam anymore. He doesn’t want to think about anything. He slightly turned his head to the left, glancing at his unfinished wall.

_Maybe I should finish that…_

He then notices something that hadn’t caught his attention this morning. Niall’s hat is sitting at the edge of the bed. He must have left it there.

And that means….

Zayn have to return it to him. Regardless and whether he wants to or not, he’s going to Niall’s house. He can’t just keep the hat or dispose it. That would be rude…what if Niall wants it back? Even if the hat situation didn’t exist, Zayn would still have to visit his house so he can get to know the ‘truth’.

He sighs, grasping the cotton felt hat and stuffs it in his coat pocket. He leaves his room and walks down the stairs. So far, his mother didn’t say anything; she’s occupied from singing to herself and drinking coffee. Zayn quietly creeps to the front door so he can avoid a confrontation with his mother. He bites his lips in high hopes that the door doesn’t make too much of a sound when it is being closed. It only creaks for a bit and it was probably enough for his mother to turn her head but he wouldn’t know since he has made it outside.

The distance between Zayn’s house and Niall’s house isn’t very long. There’s only one thing that separates them: Zayn’s driveway and Niall’s mini wood fence. The walk to Niall’s house is punching at Zayn’s gut and talking away his breath. No, it’s not the wind that toys with his respiration but it’s the anticipation and the nerves building up because this is the first time that he’s visiting Niall and going into his home.

His blue boots crunches the hardened snow, compressing the frozen liquid to thin sheets on the ground and some are left behind on the corners and edges of the vibrant boots. His legs wobble as he walks and his eyes cannot stop blinking.

It seems like forever but it only took sixteen seconds, going from his house, around the fence and up to the porch. Niall’s house is abundantly beautiful; it stands out from most houses that are on the street because of its French doors.

Zayn’s not sure on whether to knock or to ring the doorbell. He does both and waits.

 

 

He waits…..and waits.

No one is coming to answer so he knocks again. He can hear footsteps and an obvious figure coming to the doors. The figure is bigger, with feminine curves and longer blond hair. The figure opens one of the doors, revealing a very much older woman, probably in her late thirties or early forties. Her tired eyes are as blue as Niall’s and her face is similar to Niall’s face as well. Oh, she must be Niall’s mother.

“Hi, I’m Zayn. I’m here to see Niall.” Zayn smiles, feeling comfortable because Niall’s mom seems friendly. After he introduced himself, the woman stopped smiling, looking confused.

“Niall? What do you mean, here to see him?” Her voice stinks of fright and concern and Zayn is confused as well.

He stutters, shaking his head. “I-I, um…um, I…I’m here. I’m here to return his hat and…I was going to talk to him. We met yesterday and we hung out for a bit…and…he left his hat. Can I see him please, ma’am? Please?”

He couldn’t tell her about Niall coming over at his house last night. He doesn’t know how she would react to that. It wouldn’t be positive, that’s for sure.

“I don’t understand, honey. That would be impossible. You can’t…” She sighs, placing her hands on her face, rubbing outside her eyes. Zayn can see tears forming in her eyes, which has him concerned about Niall. “You can’t just see him. I don’t think…I don’t think you’re well enough, darling. Why don’t you go back home? Okay?”

Before she could close the door, Zayn abruptly places his hand on the door, to prevent it being closed. “Why can’t I see him, ma’am? That’s not fair. I’ve been seeing him and he said that he would tell me the truth and stuff. What’s wrong with him? Did he get hurt? If something is wrong, I want to know….so what happened to him?” Zayn whined for the entire time, hoping to get an answer.

The answer is not what he expected.

The lady smiles a bit, looking at Zayn with sympathy. “You can’t see him because Niall is dead. He died thirty years ago.”

 

 

_Thirty years ago? Thirty? Thirty years? Niall is like, my age. There is no way!_

“That can’t be! He’s around my age! I saw him when I moved in next door, I saw him yesterday and I saw him this morning! He’s my age! Not a thirty years old dead man!” Zayn doesn’t mean to yell; he’s just reacting to such ridiculous news. He’s starting to believe that Niall’s mom is lying. “Look here. I have his hat to prove it to you.” He pulls out Niall’s hat from his coat pocket and displays it in front of the older lady. She gasps, placing her hands on her mouth.

“Oh, my god….this _is_ his hat…” She reaches her hands out, grasping the hat from Zayn and observes it emotionally. “I hadn’t seen this hat…in _years_. Where in the world did you get this?” She looked at him with shock, thinking that Zayn had broke in her house and stole the hat.

“He..left it.” Zayn sighs because he knows that he have to tell the truth. “At my house. He left it there.”

The woman shook her head repeatedly. “Honey, there’s no way that he left anything anywhere. He’s passed away a long time ago and he’s buried in the family cemetery. I’m sorry but…I think the best way to explain everything is that….my older brother was haunting you.”

_What? Older…_

“You’re not his mom?” Zayn asks in a surprised tone. He didn’t expect her to be Niall’s sister.

She nods, pursing her lips. “No, I’m not. I’m his sister. Would you like to come in so you can talk about it? Well, is it okay for you to come in? I don’t want any trouble with your parents.” She opens the door more, inviting the younger boy in. Zayn accepts the invitation, stepping inside of the house. The inside is just as beautiful as the outside. The atmosphere smells of citrus and honeysuckle. The interior design and furniture are so old and outdated but beautiful nonetheless. Zayn feel like he stepped back in time, in the 1940s.

What threw him off was the excessive amount of candles that Niall’s sister is possessing around the home.

“I’m Nadine Horan, by the way. And you said your name is Zayn, right?” Nadine stuck out her hand for it to be shaken. Zayn shook her hand then nodded.

“Yeah, it’s Zayn. No offense but how do I know if you’re telling the truth about Niall, Miss Horan?”

Nadine smiles, gesturing for Zayn to sit down on a chair that’s located in the living room. “I’ll prove it to you…just as you did to me, with the hat.” She walks to a shelf which is piled with books, photos and extra candles. She grabs a large, red book with the name of _Horan Family_ titled on the cover. She opens it and searches for photos. “Ah ha…here he is.” She points a specific picture, showing it to Zayn. Zayn leans in closer to get a better look. The photo looks really, really old. The edges are decaying and the photo is in black and white. There lies Niall, same age, same outfit: coat, mittens and hat, standing and smiling that crooked smile with a younger girl who looks exactly like him.

“That’s me and him, outside of the Winter Wonderland Fair. I was about seven or eight years old and he was eleven. We had such a great time there.” She shows another picture, then another, flipping pages. Niall are in these photos and these photos are quite old. There’s no faking it.

And Zayn feels like an idiot. He feels like a _crazy_ idiot.

Why has he been seeing Niall’s ghost? What does Niall want…

“I don’t know what to say.” Zayn states, sinking lower in the chair. He wants to go home and cry in his pillow. Nadine puts a hand on his back, rubbing as console.

“I’ll be honest, Zayn. You’re not the only who ‘saw’ him. I used to see him, even after he died. He would pop up from time to time, just to talk to me and to play games with me. He stopped visiting me when I got older. I’ve always wondered why he stopped but I guess…he wanted to let go. I was seventeen, I believe, when he stopped. I was preparing for college and my own life. Things was changing….my mother had become sick and the people in the neighborhood was moving in and out…oh, it was so strange. Everything was strange.”

Zayn tilts his head, curious by what she said. “What do you mean?”

Nadine flicks her hands, wanting to change the topic but Zayn wouldn’t let go.

“Well, I just remember some things happening in the neighborhood. Like, um… in ‘54, just around my mother had got sick, this family moved in the house that you’re living in…they was nice folks, friendly and all. A couple and a son. I’ve never met the couple but I’ve seen the son. He was _so_ young and sweet. It was sad to learn that he had gone missing after they’ve moved in. Mm, mm..” Nadine is clearly reminiscing, shaking her head in sadness. “Geez, what was his name…OH! Louis! Yeah, that was his name.”

Zayn is speechless and breathless. He stares at Nadine, feeling dizzy. “Louis? The little kid? With brown hair and blue jean jacket?”

She nods, placing the book on the floor. “Yeah, how did you know? Did you see an old newspaper or something?”

“No…never mind.” Zayn immediately thought of another person and was anxious to ask Nadine about it. “Do you know a boy named Liam, perhaps?”

Nadine gasps again, gazing blankly in front of her. “ _Yes!_ Liam too. He moved in the same house ten years ago….such a sweet, little teenager. He…he went missing too. His family was devastated and they moved out just after a month. Oh…I wonder what happened to him. He was a bit rebellious so I think he ran away at first but…a child just doesn’t run then don’t come back. If they don’t come back then…”

“Then he must be dead.” Zayn finished the sentence for her, voice cracking and his face is flushed.

Now, Zayn knows the truth about Niall….and even Liam and Louis but he feel like he’s missing some things. He doesn’t know _enough_.

“How did Niall die, Miss Horan?”

 

 

Of course, Zayn expected car accident, medical condition, freak accident, or anything rational. Nadine responded with one of the worst deaths.

“Suicide. He killed himself, slashing at himself and bleeding out in the woods. My parents and I thought that he was taken at first because he was gone suddenly and he didn’t come back home. The police searched and they…they found his body…” Her voice chokes up. “His body…in the woods. Blood was everywhere and it was just horrible and sanguine. It was like a horror movie, mostly sad and so unpredicted.”

 Zayn cries a bit, because it is truly sad. She sniffs, then her face changes. “Actually, it wasn’t _that_ unpredicted but…I didn’t think that his situation had anything to do with it.”

“What situation?”

“Niall used to be bullied and treated differently. He didn’t do very well in school and with people and….bigger people always used to treat him like shit, excuse my language and he didn’t take it very well. In the back of my mind, I hoped and prayed that he would have got through it but they got him. They got to him and now…he’s onto you.”

Zayn instantly stood up, not caring about what Nadine thought because he’s definitely scared. “I’m sorry, ma’am but I have to go. My mom is probably worried about me. Thank you for telling me everything…you have a nice home…and my condolences.” Zayn runs out the door, leaving Nadine behind in her home.

His feet paced on the snow, running to behind the house then further out. He’s closer to the woods then he stops. He’s only a few seconds away from entering it, hearing no sounds or seeing nothing.

“Niall? Where are you? I know that you’re here.” He spoke out, facing the never ending bunches of trees. “Niall! Answer me! What do you want from me!? I know everything! Your sister told me everything!”

“She didn’t tell you shit.” A voice replied behind Zayn. He turned around, facing the dead spirit. He’s still scared but he’s also angry. The anger is taking over and is giving him courage to even debate with the ghost.

“Yes, she did. She told me how you died. She told me about the bullies. She even told me about Liam and Louis. They went missing _but_ I saw both of them. So they’re either still alive and not aging or they’re dead. How did they end up dead, Niall? Do you have something to do with it?”

Niall say nothing, smiling. It’s weird but Zayn ignores it.

“You promised to tell me the truth so…do it.”

Niall shrugs, pouting out his bottom lip. “Fine. I didn’t kill myself. I sacrificed my body to get power. I did it to get revenge though. I sold my soul and I was able to hurt those who had hurt me. It felt really good to hurt them. But Louis and Liam…I wasn’t planning to hurt them. They were bullied too and I felt their pain. I went through the same stuff so I thought, why not take them with me and they can get revenge? I became a friend to both of them, asked them if they wanted revenge and they gave me their souls so they could kill their bullies. It was foolproof.” Niall grasps Zayn’s shoulders, staring into his eyes with sincerity.

“Listen, Zayn. You can join me. You can join us.”

Liam and Louis shows up out of nowhere, standing next to Zayn. Louis stood on the left and Liam stood on the right and they both stared with lifeless eyes and sinister smiles.

“Remember today? When Buzz pushed you down? Remember the feeling that you felt, defeated on the ground while he stood over you, feeling proud of making you feel like shit? Do you remember how you felt and what you wanted?”

Zayn thought long and hard, recalling the moment of Buzz bullying him. “I wanted him dead.” He admits. Shame and guilt showers him but Niall isn’t giving up on him.

“Right. We all wanted the same so we banded together. I brought Li and Lou in my world and helped them. You….I can help you too. Think about it. You just moved into this beautiful neighborhood and already, you’re being treated like dirt by some insecure, fat bastard.”

Louis giggles in a cute way, covering his mouth while Liam smirks at Niall’s profanity. Niall is serious though and he hasn’t let go of Zayn’s shoulders.

“Let me help you. All you have to do is one thing for me.” Niall assures, smiling finally.

“What’s that?” Zayn asks even though he knew the answer is probably giving his soul, which is something that he doesn’t want to do. Louis grabs Zayn’s left hand and Liam had grasped Zayn’s right hand. Niall had let go of Zayn’s shoulders, walking around the three boys then into the entrance of the woods.

“Come into the woods with us.”

“But…but the dark thing! It will hurt us!” Zayn exclaimed, trying to release himself from Liam and Louis.

Niall shushed him, and Zayn received a hypnotizing vibe from Niall. His presence alone, is so influential so Zayn calmed down. The last thing that Zayn remembers before he lost himself was Niall saying, “Trust me, _I_ won’t hurt you. I never would and never intended to.” Then Niall’s height changed to taller and his skin color disappeared. The clothes changed into a black gown. His limbs became skinny as twigs then his eyes went from blue to white.

Niall has transformed and Zayn can see clearly now, letting himself being led into the forbidden woods.

 

 

                                                                                                                            

 

****

_Summer 1984_

 

He doesn’t mind the house or the neighborhood or the heat. Harry absolutely loves changes. He likes meeting new people and getting into new activities. At his former home in North Dakota, it’s always cold and lonely so he’s excited that his parents are looking throughout the new potential house. His parents and the realtor are somewhere downstairs while he’s upstairs, looking at every room. One room in particular, caught his attention because of what’s on the wall.

It seems to be a half-finished superhero mural. If only it were finished, it would look fantastic, Harry thought. Sadly, whoever lived him before, was obviously a lazy ass and couldn’t finish an awesome painting.

He shook his head, studying the oldest characters and the odd details on them. Then he turned his head, looking around the room. Every wall is blank except that certain one. It’s all white and smells of fruity soap and plants.

“Oh! There you are!” The realtor enters the room, appearing to be out of breath. Her hair is big and curly, stinking of hairspray. Harry wants to cover his nose but he doesn’t want to be rude. “We were looking for you! Anne, he’s in here!” She shouted back in the hallway then Harry’s mom appears too.

She observes the room, being surprised by the half painted mural. “Ooh, what’s up with that?”

The realtor apologized, explaining that the previous family, who lived in the house, had an artistic son and he was not able to finish. Then she promised that she will have the painters to come by so they can paint over it.

“No, no! I like it. I want it to stay like that.” Harry exclaimed, interrupting the realtor.

“Harry, are you sure? I didn’t know you liked superheroes anyway.” Anne stated, looking at the wall again. But Harry insisted, giving a smile to indicate that he’s serious. Anne couldn’t say no because he’s her baby boy. What he wants, he gets….most of the time.

“Okay then. We’ll take it.”

The realtor shrieked with excitement, announcing and congratulating Anne with her new house. Harry’s excited too, calling dibs on the room.

“If we can go back downstairs, we can talk about the paperwork and mortgage.” The realtor escorted Anne and Harry downstairs, joining Harry’s dad, who happened to admire the fireplace. About thirty minutes is spent so Anne and Des can sign papers and discuss the mortgage. They are able to move in immediately since Harry wanted to keep the mural. The plan to paint over it, is cancelled due to a phone call that the realtor made.

The realtor congratulated them again, shaking all of their hands. “I hope you guys will enjoy the new chapter of your lives. It’s a very beautiful house and a wonderful neighborhood.” They stand outside of the house, admiring the windows, the door, the lawn and the roof. The realtor leaves, excusing that she has to be somewhere and handed some keys to Harry’s parents.

“Have a good day!” The realtor shouted as she climbed in her car, waving goodbye at the Styles family.

“Alright, let’s get back to the hotel and pack up. We can go to the furniture store tonight and see what we can get delivered by tomorrow.” Anne announced, placing an arm over Des’ shoulder as they walk to their car. Harry watches and blushes his parents’ public display of affection, then admired the house again for a few seconds.

_Awesome…I have a new room and it’s huge!_

He stopped smiling when he witnesses something that’s in the corner of his eye. Another kid around his age, stares at him from the window of his own house next to Harry’s. He seems to have blond hair and lighter eyes, Harry couldn’t tell for sure. _He’s dressed like a weirdo._

Harry grimaces then fake smiled, waving at the kid. He felt the urge to be polite at least instead of giving dirty looks. The kid doesn’t do anything except stare and stare.

“Harry! Let’s go! We have to get our stuff and we’ll come back later!” Anne shouted at him from the car. Harry turned his head, already irritated. “Okay, I’m coming!” He starts to walk to the car then turned his head back, only for a second glance, to see the kid again. He’s not there but Harry thought nothing of it, shrugging his shoulders as he got in the car.

_It’s just another boy in a window._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I know that Niall doesn't have a sister in real life. Blah, it's a fake story, disclaimer, disclaimer...yah yah yah
> 
> I'll beta it later

**Author's Note:**

> If anyone wants a full backstory on what's the fuck is going on, comment and say "Twisted, please add another twist." 
> 
> and I'll be happy to do so.
> 
> But if you can figure out what's going on, I personally will send you a hug and cookies.
> 
> (UPDATE) I changed my name from Twistedartist to Legna..ha. if you still want to call me "twisted", that's totally up to you :)


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